Extra Juice from Mophie Pack Plus

If you have an iPhone 4 and you feel like you don’t get enough use out of each recharge, then this is the product for you. Mophie has created Juice Packs for Apple’s portable gear going back to the first iPhone, and I’ve owned one for most.

The Juice Pack Plus is basically a case that surrounds the iPhone on all sides except the display. On the back it’s rather thick but the sides are just about like other cases. Obviously it adds weight but nothing too bad, I think. All buttons on the iPhone are functional and there’s an opening for the camera and flash.

On the bottom of the Juice Pack Plus there’s a button for testing its charge (five lights indicate the capacity) and on the side is a small switch for turning charge on or off. This is good because you can decide when the case should charge or not. Mophie has covered the sides, which come in various different colours, with a softer material, which makes the case easier to grip and hold.

So how much extra juice will you get with this case? About a full charge, I would say. Mophie says you double the battery life, which sounds about right. That means, when you’re iPhone 4 is flat, turn the case on and it will charge the phone to full again. One added benefit of using this case is that you can use the same USB to MicroUSB cable for your iPhone that you already use with many other mobile devices.

The Juice Pack Plus sells locally for Dh399 and you can get more details at mophie.com.


Breffo SpiderPodium Tablet

There are so many different stands available for your tablet that the choice is bewildering. Especially if you have an iPad, it seems like every shop is full of accessories. One iPad accessory that really stands out is Breffo’s SpiderPodium Tablet; a deceptively simple product with a long and complicated name.

I ran into the guys from Breffo at CES in January and they handed me a SpiderPodium. It’s basically the same as the Tablet version but smaller. The bigger sibling looks very much like a large spider with eight legs, spanning around 30cm when stretched out. All the legs are flexible and can be bent and held in any position you like, even rolled up into a small ball for easy storage. Soft rubber covers the metal legs so holding a tablet or smartphone in place will not damage the device.

The SpiderPodium Tablet can be used with any tablet, not just iPad, and the smaller model works with all smartphones. With the flexible legs, your imagination is what sets the limit for what’s possible with these products. On a desk, on the back of a car seat, or on almost anything else, Breffo’s products can hold your mobile device in place.

The SpiderPodium Tablet is $35 and you 
can order it from breffo.com.

Magnus Nystedt talks and writes about technology as much as he can. Follow him on Twitter as @mnystedt for the latest on consumer technology in the Middle East.

• UAE